• Course Description:

    This course is designed as an introductory laboratory-based course designed to meet the SC Curriculum Standards in Biology.

    Students will be introduced to the major units of biological science: lab safety, biochemistry, cell structure and function, cell transport, cellular energy, cell growth and division, sexual reproduction and inheritance, DNA replication and protein synthesis, biotechnology, biological evolution and ecology. The student develops an understanding and appreciation of all living things and their critical relationship with one another. Laboratory investigations that address the biology inquiry standard are an essential aspect of this course. Students must pass this course in order to receive a state high school diploma. A state-mandated end-of-course examination that is worth 20% of a student’s overall grade is required.

    Course Objectives and Standards:

    Standard H.B.1: The student will use the science and engineering practices, including the processes and skills of scientific inquiry, to develop understandings of science content.

    Standard H.B.2: The student will demonstrate the understanding that the essential functions of life take place within cells or systems of cells.

    Standard H.B.3: The student will demonstrate the understanding that all essential processes within organisms require energy which in most ecosystems is ultimately derived from the Sun and transferred into chemical energy by the photosynthetic organisms of that ecosystem.

    Standard H.B.4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the specific mechanisms by which characteristics or traits are transferred from one generation to the next via genes.

    Standard H.B.5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of biological evolution and the diversity of life.

    Standard H.B.6: The student will demonstrate an understanding that ecosystems are complex, interactive systems that include both biological communities and physical components of the environment.

  • Weekly lesson plans can be found starting at the top of the document found .